Sid Watkins on Michael Schumacher

Taken from Top Gear's new blog, this is what Prof Sid Watkins, one of the world's top brain surgeons, and the president of the FIA Institute for Motorsport Safety, said about Michael Schumacher:

"The calmest response I ever had at an accident was from Michael Schumacher, when he crashed at Silverstone in '99. I got to him really quickly after the accident - it was a first lap accident and my car was behind the pack. So I think it was about 86 seconds after the impact, I was there. Michael had taken his helmet off, and as he saw me running toward him he said 'it's alright Sid, it's only a broken leg.'

"Then we hauled him out of the car, I was putting splints on his broken leg and attaching that to his good leg, and he sort of sat up a bit and said, 'Sid, will you do two things for me?' I said yes.

"He said, 'One - ring my wife and tell her it's only a broken leg, and two - tell Jean Todt to test the brakes on Eddie Irvine's car, because it was a brake failure.' I mean, you can't get cooler than that."

The guy can still think so calmly after an accident that just broke his leg...Wow!!!